March 31, 2017 — Robotics company OptoForce today opened a U.S. office missioned with bringing a sense of touch for robots. Already used in medical and service sectors and other assembly tasks throughout Western Europe and Asia, the company’s 6-axis force/torque sensors will be featured at Automate 2017 April 3-6 in Booth #469.
The OptoForce 6-axis sensors create a sense of touch for robots required to perform work such as polishing, bolt insertion, and other finer assembly tasks. Currently compatible with robots from Universal Robots and KUKA, OptoForce sensors automate these tasks.
OptoForce founders, then university students, worked together on a walking robot, where they faced constant issues with the weight, rigidity and cost of then available multi-axis force sensors. To address the many challenges, they developed a prototype of the current sensors that used infrared light to detect deformations of the silicone sensor structure. This radically new and unique approach forms the basis of the current OptoForce solution and guarantees precise measurements even up to 200 percent overload.
Gary Eliasson will champion this technology and lead the OptoForce office in introducing a sense of touch to North American automation. OptoForce launches this initiative at a good time. With the 2016 North American robotics market breaking all-time records in orders and shipments, according to the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) survey, OptoForce looks forward to playing a role in the automation of North American manufacturing initiatives. Eliasson’s first mandate will be to develop a strong distributor network. Current OptoForce distributors include Essential Robot Products and The Knotts Company
OptoForce expansion is backed by robot technology investor, Enrico Krog Iversen, as well as private equity investors Day One Capital and Finext Startup. Iversen sold Danish robot manufacturer Universal Robots to the U.S. -based Teradyne in 2015.